Students rally behind spunky girl battling leukemia, donate to Locks of Love

Katherine Scott Image
Thursday, March 24, 2016
VIDEO: Locks of Love
Seven-year-old Kylie Drumm, a spunky second-grader at Blair Mill Elementary in Hatboro, was diagnosed with Leukemia in August.

HATBORO, Pa. -- Seven-year-old Kylie Drumm is pretty as a princess with the strength of a superhero, and an arsenal of jokes to match any comedian.

"Why did the queen go to the dentist?" asked Kylie. "Because she wanted crowns on her teeth!"

The spunky second-grader at Blair Mill Elementary in Hatboro was diagnosed with Leukemia in August.

Her mom says she hadn't been acting like herself. Blood tests confirmed it was cancer.

Intense chemotherapy has followed, and the school quickly rallied behind Kylie and her family.

"This is probably going to be the hardest times of their life. And we don't want them to be alone," said Marisa Korman, second-grade teacher. "We want them to know that we're there for them."

On Thursday, as part of that support, 13 members of the school community chopped off 10 inches of their hair to be donated to Locks of Love, all in honor of Kylie.

"It gives other people that have cancer support if they want a wig," said Kylie, who tells us she doesn't want to wear a wig. "I just want to be myself."

The school dressed in orange for leukemia awareness and sold wristbands, in the end donating more than $3,100 to the family. When it came down to it, cutting off nearly a foot of hair wasn't a hard decision.

"Some people, they get this medicine that makes them lose their hair, and sometimes they can't grow it back," said fourth-grader Ava Bianchini "But I can always grow it back."

"If I have enough hair to cut, then I should donate some," said fifth-grader Izzy Bentaha. "Because I would still have more and it would grow back."

After the big cut, it was time to get styled. But this isn't really about a haircut, it's about showing support to Kylie and so many others.

"It's just amazing how supportive they are," said Gina Johnson, Kylie's mom. "They're always here."

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